Suicide among Veterans experiencing or at risk for homelessness remains a significant public health concern. Conducting research to understand and meet the needs of this at-risk population remains challenging due to myriad factors (e.g., clinical complexity including multimorbidity, difficulty monitoring risk across systems). To address this challenge, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) convened the Health Services Research and Development (HSR&D) Suicide Prevention in Veterans Experiencing Homelessness: Research and Practice Development meeting, bringing together subject-matter experts in the fields of homelessness and suicide prevention, both from within and outside of VA. During the meeting, attendees identified 10 potential research priorities at the intersection of suicide prevention and homelessness. After the meeting, Delphi methodology was used to achieve consensus on the relative importance of the identified research domains. Through this iterative Delphi process, agreement was reached regarding the need to increase understanding of barriers and facilitators to suicide risk assessment and emergency intervention for Veterans experiencing homelessness by examining the perspectives of both Veterans and healthcare providers. Elucidating the complex relationships between risk periods, subgroups, suicide means, and drivers of suicide among Veterans experiencing homelessness was also considered a top priority. This article documents the Delphi process and provides a research agenda for researchers, funding agencies, and policymakers to prioritize the most relevant and potentially impactful research domains aimed at preventing suicide among Veterans experiencing or at risk for homelessness.

BACKGROUND:: Suicidal self-directed violence among Veterans experiencing homelessness remains a significant public health concern. To prevent suicide in this population, concerted clinical and research efforts remain necessary. OBJECTIVE:: This paper serves as a consensus statement by the recently-formed Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Suicide Prevention among Veterans Experiencing Homelessness Workgroup. We provide a brief overview of current initiatives to prevent suicide among Veterans experiencing homelessness. We also discuss methods of studying this complex subset of the Veteran population, as well as future research endeavors necessary to inform gaps in understanding. CONCLUSIONS:: Veterans experiencing homelessness are a complex subset of the Veteran population whose risk for suicide may be exacerbated by a number of factors (e.g., multimorbidity, rurality). While the VA has implemented a number of initiatives to prevent suicide among Veterans experiencing homelessness (e.g., universal screening for suicidal ideation and recent suicide attempts, Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training), there is a continued need to understand how best to tailor these initiatives to Veterans experiencing homelessness. Moreover, because Veterans experiencing homelessness often access a number of services within the community (e.g., community-based clinics, homeless shelters), collaboration between the VA and community is necessary.